Herald of Steel



Lady Inayah and her family could be said to be the real people looking after the royal family's coffers.

A task they had done for generations.

They also controlled the main port of Adhan, which was located in their largest city, Aprifah which was north of Agnirat and it was mainly from there Adhan shipped all its goods in and out of the province.

Furthermore, the current head of the house, Iyazid was Ptolomy's economic minister, or Treasury Master as the title went, and it was him that had instructed his daughter who controlled the port city of Agnirat to come to Zanzan and determine all the new goods it supposedly was creating after he got the information from Ptolomy.

It seemed that Alexander had barely got his industry going and already hungry bees were gathering to it.

Whether good or bad was yet to be seen.

"My dear Alexander, my fleets seemed to be only coming to you the past few months, hehe," The black, mature beauty greeted Alexander with a large smile, as she disembarked, alluding to the fact that her fleet had first dropped off Alexander in Zanzan in November, then returned with the Thesians in March, and was again back here in May.

This movement had actually disrupted some of the lady's trade.

"My apologies. It has been really a hectic few months for Lord Karvish. We are very grateful for you lending us the ships, Lady Inayah," Alexander gently smiled the reply and even bowed a bit, showing his sincerity.

But Lady Inayah appeared to possess truly a lot of ships, as among the 150 ships here, Alexander estimated around 80 to be Lady Inayah's personal fleets, as he even recognized some of the more familiar ships from their previous trips.

It seemed even the fabled Pasha Farzah did not have enough ships to accommodate all the goods he was caring by himself.

So Alexander then added, "And I should apologize that there were even a few ships lost due to tasks assigned by me. I hope the lady doesn't mind."

Though this was only polite talk, as Alexander had made sure to reimburse her to the fullest, and even some more,

And so the beautiful lady only put her hands over her lips and coyly said, "Oh, Alexander you polite boy, think nothing of it."

Finally, done with all pleasantries, Alexander then gestured the guests to board the carriages arranged for them, while the dock workers led by Heliptos worked to unload the gigantic amount of cargo placed near their shores.

And thus, with a large number of armed escorts, Alexander at last took his guests back to the mansion, where a grand meal awaited them.

Meats were the highlight of the feast, including roasted boar, venison, lamb, and poultry, cooked and seasoned with an array of herbs and spices, which offered a symphony of flavors.

Accompanying the meats were an assortment of side dishes, such as vegetables, grains, and legumes, made in exotic dishes which showcased the culinary skills of the kitchen staff.

And finally, various elaborate pies and pastries filled with a mixture of meats, fruits, and spices were served as desserts, while wine and ale flowed freely.

But the most eye-catching part of the feast was not the food itself, but what it was served on- clear glass.

In fact, everything on the table was made of glass.

The bowls the dishes were served on were made of heavy crystalline glass, the plates were intricately designed with clear glass patterns, and the crystalline goblets were made of bristol glass, which seemed to especially mesmerize the group as the light bent through it in beautiful patterns.

"So, Mikaya was telling the truth. Zanzan can make clear glass," Pasha Farzah did not hold back his candid praise as he drowned his drink from the glass, before sending Alexander a knowing glance, as if asking the man whether he understood the implication of this material he had invented that was seen as valuable as gold.

And this was how the first day of Pasha Farzah's visit to Zanzan ended, with drinks, food, and wine, as the old man retired early to his quarters, being tired from the long journey, but not before taking three courtesans that Alexander had arranged for him to bed.

Seeing this, Alexander had even commented in his heart, 'Old man, you aren't that young, Aren't you afraid of embarrassing yourself?'

But it was apparently not the case, as the pasha seemed to be old but not impotent, for the courtesans would later confide to Ophenia about being sore down there, who would then jokingly let Alexander know afterward in between talks.

As such, with Farzah's merriments late into the night making him wake up late, and Alexander hosting his council meeting in the morning, the real meeting between the two men only began the following midday, after another round of heavy meals.

"I brought a bit more than you requested. Hope you can check that." Pasha Farzah began as he leaned back on the comfortable couch in Alexander's study, taking a sip of sweet wine.

"Yes. Though I would have appreciated it more if you had bought the amount I wanted sooner. That would have really helped." From the opposite end of the table, Alexander languidly replied, similarly having a wine goblet in his hand.

The young man did not forget to air his grievance to the older man even when everything Alexander had ordered was increased by around a quarter as reported by Heliptos.

To which Pasha Farzah only shrugged his shoulders and replied almost nonchalantly, "What do you want me to say? I simply did not think you would survive."

Pasha Farzah might have bought more goods as an apology, but there was no hint of regret in his speech.

The man seemed to think he had made the correct choice based on the information he had on hand.

And then, as if to smooth over Alexander's bitterness at being abandoned, he raised his glass and frankly admitted "And I'm glad I was wrong," as he then toasted, "So congratulations on your win, brat! Good job!"

It seemed that Pasha Farzah had given Alexander the endearment of 'brat', something he had heard only the pasha call the twins by.

Either this was a frank reveal of Farzah's fondness towards him, or a cunning strategy to smooth over the recent rough patch.

But whichever it was, Alexander had no choice but to accept the outcome, as he let go of his grievance by saying,

"Hmmp, well I'm glad that at least you are here. If you were just a week late, I would have likely starved."

Alexander here exaggerated his food situation.

And Pasha Farzah only chuckled the reply, "Well then it's a good thing I bought you four who…women to eat,"

He changed that word at the last second while he made the dirty joke to liven the mood.

While Alexander had no problem recognizing which four Pasha Farzah was talking about.

'So what is up with Nanazin here? Wasn't she supposed to only come in August?" Alexander asked curiously, as the deal was that Seelima and Hellma would return to Adhan during the Jtaama held in September, and they would be replaced by Nanazin and her kids.

But she was three months early.

"*Sigh*, if she had waited till August, she might have come in a coffin," The aged pasha here could only let out a helpless sigh as he subconsciously shook his head, which made Alexander raise an eyebrow.

The first thought that ran through his mind was Nanazin was being tried for treason, but quickly discarded the thought because he would have certainly known about something like that.

"Is Ptolomy being that abusive?" So Alexander felt this was the most probable answer, for Nanazin had told him how the man liked to humiliate her in various ways, and this was confirmed by Farzah's nod.

Though the old man did not go into further detail as he felt that would be in poor taste.

So instead he said,

"By the way, I will have to take Seelima and Hellma when I return. That was the only way I could get him to agree to let Nanazin and the kids go. You don't mind do you?"

"Sure." Alexander readily agreed as he felt that even if let the hostages go, Ptolomy was unlikely to stab him in the back.

This confidence mainly came from Pasha Farzah, who was unlikely to let Ptolomy do anything stupid, something Alexander did not have when he first made the deal as he had yet to meet the man back then.

While Alexander was also of the opinion that the Queen Mother might willingly come back soon afterward to keep an eye on all the new inventions Alexander was making.

At least, Seelima had shown herself to be highly interested in observing and understanding the works of Alexander in the meantime, something which Alexander had cleverly avoided until now.

"So, what should I do with her and her kids now?" Alexander then posed this to Pasha Farzah regarding Nanazin, as the old man simply shrugged his shoulders and replied,

"Whatever you want. Use, discard, or even kill them if you want. Ptolomy doesn't care. You won't even have to return them if you don't want to."

He seemed to represent Ptolomy's will.

Alexander accepted this answer with a nod, while he thought of a way how to use make her useful

And soon a thought came to him, -Put her in charge of the banks.